2022 Annual Research Day

2022 ANNUAL RESEARCH DAY

Humans are born with an innate need for physical touch, but what happens when that touch triggers physical pain? "A patient once told me, 'It's hard to maintain personal relationships when it hurts to be hugged,'" said Dr. Tara Packham, discussing the functional consequences of allodynia. Dr. Packham was just one presenter amongst many at the Michael G. DeGroote National Pain Centre's Annual Research Day.

Returning with its in-person format, the Annual Research Day was held in an afternoon session, at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Ontario. Coinciding with National Pain Awareness Week, the afternoon highlighted up-and-coming research and initiatives, across several disciplines, with the common theme of pain.

Drs Tara Packham and Lisa Carlesso, of the IMPRinT Lab, discuss understanding movement to optimize rehabilitation for musculoskeletal disorders.

In addition to Dr. Packham, among the presenters were Dr. Parminder Raina, of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), who discussed building a population-based platform for research on aging and the opportunities for pain research within CSLA; Dr. Fei Geng, who discussed who is susceptible to developing CPSP; Dr. Yong Fang Zhu and Peter Kan of McMaster's Singh Lab, who looked at computational analysis and modeling for neuropathic pain; Dr. PJ Devereaux, who provided an overview of the PVC-RAM-1 Trial and potential to improve post-hospital discharge pain after surgery; and Drs Tara Packham and Lisa Carlesso, providing an overview of the IMPRinT Lab.

The 2023 Michael G. DeGroote Pain Research & Care Research Day will take place in Spring 2023, and planning is already underway.